Where does “nurture” come from?
Nurture comes from Middle English norture, from Old French norriture meaning nourishment, from Latin nutritura, derived from the verb nutrire meaning to feed or nourish, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European (s)neh₂- meaning to flow or spin.
nurture (English): The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care;...
Definitions
- The act of nourishing or nursing; tender care;...
Ancestry of “nurture”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | norture | Sustenance, comestibles, diet; The bringing up of... |
| 2 | Old French | norriture | food |
| 3 | Late Latin | nutritura | nourishment; nominative feminine singular of... |
| 4 | Latin | nutrire | present active infinitive of nūtriō;... |
| 5 | Latin | nutrio | I suckle, breastfeed, nurse |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | snoutrjō | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | snew-tr-ih₂ | female nurser |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)neh₂- | to swim; to float |
Words derived from “nurture”